Your Best Advice For a Beginner

[mvmac]

You meet someone at a party and they mention they are taking up the game of golf. They tried doing some research on the golf swing but found all the conflicting information too confusing. They ask you for your best "tip" or the one thing you know now that you wish you knew when you started playing golf. 

What do you tell them?

[JP golf]

1.  Get your grip right from the start

Next two:  keep your head still and left arm straight

[b101]

Start with a year of putting, then work up from there... 

More seriously, I'd say two things: get a set of 6 lessons and get out on the course - even average teachers can give you decent fundamentals and stop you ingraining too many bad habits, but you can't just stick on the range and assume you'll enjoy it. I'm also just not sold on that 'one tip for everyone'. Even if they know they need to keep their head still, how many are going to video it, review it and go slowly enough for it to make a huge difference?

Edited October 18, 2015 by b101

[Kenny Lee]

Quit. Sell you clubs and buy a fishing pole instead.

[jbishop15]

Slide your hips towards the target on the downswing so that your weight is forward at impact. 

 

[saevel25]

Find a good instructor. The odds of having a good swing with out instruction is very slim. Most amateurs have so many poor things going on in their swing they need some consistent help. 

 

[SavvySwede]

Join the sandtrap, start a Myswing thread, evolvr, etc. Basically doing what we're all doing. For the fine young ladies I'd recommend personal instruction from myself.

Edited October 18, 2015 by SavvySwede

[alleztom]

Find a patient friend who will get you through the first bit on training wheels.

 

[Mr. Desmond]

You meet someone at a party and they mention they are taking up the game of golf. They tried doing some research on the golf swing but found all the conflicting information too confusing. They ask you for your best "tip" or the one thing you know now that you wish you knew when you started playing golf. 

What do you tell them?

For convenience sake, find the nearest course that puts on a series of  beginning classes for adults with the PGA Pro. It is usually inexpensive and gives you a faint idea of the game.

The one thing I would tell them is do not chase clubs -- the magic is not in clubs, but do purchase appropriate clubs for your playing level. After a series of lessons, find a Pro with whom you are comfortable and get fit for clubs. I would tell them if you purchase appropriate clubs, and have issues, don't blame the club -- the secret is finding a good instructor - and working on your swing. And don't bang balls, do drills that will improve your swing, and use video.

[Patch]

I like K Lee's answer.

However since it is golf, I'd say learn the game backwards. From putting to driving. Seen this work too many times to dismiss it. 

[mvmac]

I'd just explain how clubs are meant to be hit and the basics of what's going on at impact. 

- Don't try and lift the ball in the air, the loft of the club will do that for you.
- You want to hit the ball first, then the ground.
- Having the grip end ahead of the club head at impact is how clubs were designed to be hit, that's how you hit it solid. There are certain things that have to occur to accomplish that but that's the goal.

[Shindig]

If I could give good beginner advice, my mom would be able to break 120.  Here's my attempt.

• Practice frequently, learn a semi-competent short game and then spend the majority of your time on full swing.  
• Get a professional lesson.
• Play at off hours, perhaps par-3 courses early.
• Hold the club from the end with the rubber thing, not the weird-shaped metal thing
• The ball washers don't require quarters (I think I've only once seen this in a golf instructional book).

[mdl]

I like K Lee's answer.

However since it is golf, I'd say learn the game backwards. From putting to driving. Seen this work too many times to dismiss it. 

Meh.  I don't like that advice.  Didn't even work for Dan Plan Dan, and he's putting in about 1000x the time almost any other beginner is going to.  Plus, for most people putting isn't the fun of it.  My wife, for example, just likes being out on the course with me, doesn't care about her score, and loves the feeling of good contact and smacking the ball (relatively!) far.  Telling her to spend hours on the putting green working on a good pendulum without (almost) any wrist action and developing distance control and aim would've been the best possible way to get her never to want to play.

[No Mulligans]

If your going to play a round before getting some good instruction...

Play on par three and/or executive courses.  Keep your head steady. Start with really short swings, even 1/4 swings, and graduate from there.  Just clip that weed, imagine the ball is the weed.

Edited October 19, 2015 by No Mulligans

[bm85]

1. Learn the ball flight laws. Knowing why the ball behaves in such a way helps enormously when going through swing changes, and will eventually allow you to even adapt on the course if and when your swing gets out of sync.

2. Experiment. I know when I first started I would go to the range and just do different stuff at random. That is fine when you just start out, as the club will most likely be completely awkward and you just need to orient yourself/develop appropriate muscles. Long term, it is not advisable. What I mean by experimenting is: Reading/watching videos, setting objectives, planning, observing results, and analyzing the why and how through mirror or video but ultimately through shot quality and ball flight.

There are tons of variables in the swing, so you need to try and decide what you want to be "constant" as you wade through changes. That for me has been grip and stance. Constant doesn't necessarily mean you should avoid improving them if necessary, just not something to change at the same time as you make other changes. How would you know what caused what?

Common variables are ball position, takeaway, and down swing mechanics. Why I love the 5K system is that it serves as a rubric for me. If I desire to hit a pull-fade, and have developed that shot at the range then I can look in mirror/video and make adjustments to improve my efficiency.

3. Do whatever it takes to have fun. Take another tee shot, don't keep score one day, skip putting practice, play from the shortest tees with a 7 iron. Keep the fun and obsession alive, and you will stick with it and get better.

 

[isukgolf]

I will echo what has been said a few times ... get instructions ... I know some new golfers that buy into the golf marketing machine and think a club(s) will somehow make them hit it far and straight ... I have yet to see a club that can correct an horrible swing ... 

 

 

[bkuehn1952]

You meet someone at a party and they mention they are taking up the game of golf. They tried doing some research on the golf swing but found all the conflicting information too confusing. They ask you for your best "tip" or the one thing you know now that you wish you knew when you started playing golf. 

What do you tell them?

I would say, "Don't ask amateur golfers like me for tips or instructional help with golf.  If you want to get better, find a professional golf instructor with whom you are comfortable, develop a good, long term instructor/student relationship and spend more money on instruction, less on equipment."   

[uitar9]

Find a patient friend who will get you through the first bit on training wheels.

 

A friend did this for me. Took me to the driving range and I crucified a bucket of balls while he told me about how he got to where he is. Never once told me what to do, just told me about his lessons and how he improved. The family gave me a cheap starter set which I crucified for three years. 

Lessons, Club fitting, personal clubs-I learned all that on my own.